I think there is an argument to be made that writing for video games and writing for TV/movies is different.
But I also think it’s clear Hollywood has very little respect for video games as a story telling medium. They see these franchises as ways to cash in for a quick buck.
It’s not that different anymore though, since so many game stories are written like movies nowadays. So they’re already perfect for the big screen as is.
And i would argue part of why the first stills from the GOW show looked off is because certain visual choices that work well in video game form don't translate well outside of that
To that end, if they want to hire different writers who are experienced with the medium, they should still speak to the original developers at least on a consultation or advisory basis.
That "argument" was true, like 2 decades ago, when games were side scrollers like Super Mario.
Games today, have hours of mocaped and voice acted cutscenes, (TLOU 2h 21m, GOW 2018 3h 30m) where you are a passive spectator of the story. All the story related fight scenes are also made cinematic. Just watch the first Baldur fight from GOW. And then we have hours of voice acted dialogue between Mimir and Atreus or Kratos and Atreus.
And don't tell me, that it's hard to adapt, when most TV series writing boils down to "people standing in a room, talking to each other".
But I agree with you, that Hollywood has no respect for other mediums, and the writers think too much of themselves.
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u/BonJovicus Aug 12 '26
I think there is an argument to be made that writing for video games and writing for TV/movies is different.
But I also think it’s clear Hollywood has very little respect for video games as a story telling medium. They see these franchises as ways to cash in for a quick buck.